The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Guipierre.
The new Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in St. Malo, France. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new cultivars with interesting and unique flower colors.
The new Geranium originated from a cross made by the Inventors of the Pelargonium peltatum cultivar Jacques Cartier, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent, with the proprietary Pelargonium peltatum selection code number 4384, as the female, or seed, parent in 1989. The cultivar Guipierre was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in St. Malo, France, in 1989.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at St. Malo, France, has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Guipierrexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Guipierrexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant habit.
2. Moderately vigorous growth habit.
3. Zoned dark green leaves.
4. Numerous long-lasting dark purplish red-colored semi-double to double flowers.
5. Basal branching; high yield of cuttings.
6. Continuous flowering throughout the summer.
7. Foliage tolerant to rain, wind and stress conditions.
Plants of the new Geranium are more freely flowering than plants of the female parent, the proprietary selection 4384.
The new Geranium can be compared to the male parent, the cultivar Jacques Cartier. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in St. Malo, France, plants of the new Geranium differ from plants of the cultivar Jacques Cartier in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Geranium are more vigorous than plants of the cultivar Jacques Cartier.
2. Plants of the new Geranium have shinier leaves than plants of the cultivar Jacques Cartier.
3. Flowers of plants of the new Geranium last longer than flowers of plants of the cultivar Jacques Cartier.